DOH asks parents to help protect children from intestinal worm infections

The Department of Health (DOH)  is encouraging parents of 5 to 12 year old children in public elementary schools to participate in the nationwide Oplan Goodbye Bulate (worm).

The region will kick-off the campaign on Wednesday at the  Jagmis Memorial Elementary School  and San Pedro Central School, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan.

Soil-transmitted helminthiasis (STH) or infections from intestinal worms may lead to cognitive impairment and malnutrition among children.

“School children harbor the highest load of infection that is why it is imperative to provide them the most effective measure to eliminate it by administering Albendazole, a 400 milligram chewable deworming drug for children, which is efficient and cost-effective” DOH Mimaropa Regional Director Eduardo C. Janairo said.

Director Janairo clarified that "deworming tablets will be given to children who will present a parent’s consent duly accomplished by their parent or guardian. Teachers were  advised to provide the drug to children who have taken their meals to avoid complication and serious adverse effect from the medicine.”

Adverse reactions such as allergy, mild abdominal pain and diarrhea may manifest within the first 10 hours after ingestion of the deworming drug.

But Director Janairo assured that these adverse reactions are "mild and transient."

Oplan Goodbye Bulate Campaign, a nationwide program implemented by DOH in partnership with the departments of Education and the Interior and Local Government,  is done twice a year simultaneously in all public elementary schools during January and July.

For Mimaropa, DOH is targeting to reach 470,947 school-based children.

Teachers and their school nurses will  provide the deworming medicine with assistance from barangay health workers and barangay nutrition scholars.

Children participating in the campaign are also expected to drilled in proper and frequent handwashing and toothbrushing. (LP)

26 January 2016

DOH, hinikayat ang mga magulang na suportahan ang Oplan Goodbye Bulate

Makikisa ang Mimaropa sa Oplan Goodbye Bulate na gaganapin ngayong Miyerkules, ika-27 ng Enero sa mga pampublikong paaralan sa elementarya.

Ang simbulong paglulunsad ng kampanya sa Mimaropa ay gaganapin sa Mateo Jagmis Memorial Elementary School at San Pedro Central School sa Puerto Princesa City, Palawan.

Nilalayon ng Oplan Goodbye Bulate ay mabigyan ng proteksyon ang mga batang lima hanggang 12 taong gulang sa mga bulate, karaniwang galing sa lupa.

Kapag may bulate sa tiyan ang bata, maaaring siyang maging malnourish.

Paliwanag ni Regional Director Eduardo C. Janairo ng Department of Health - Mimaropa,  mga bata sa paaralan ang madalas makakuha ng bulate kaya mahalagang mabigyan sila ng pamurga tulad ng Albendazole.

Ang Albendazole ay isang  400 milligramong gamot na mangunguya ng bata.

Pero paalala ni Director Janairo, ang Albendazole ay ibibigay lamang sa mga batang may dala-dalang pahintulot sa magulang at nakakain na.

Maaring makaranas ang bata ng allergy, pananakit ng tiyan o kaya ay pagtatae sa loob ng sampung oras matapos makakain ng pamurga, pero tiniyak ni Director Janairo na ang mga ito ay mawawala rin kaya walang dapat ikabahala ang mga magulang at mga guro.

Bahagi din ng kampanyang Oplan Goodbye Bulate ay sanayin ang mga bata sa wasto at madalas na paghuhugas ng kamay at pagsesepilyo.

Ang Oplan Goodbye Bulate ay isang kampanyang itinataguyod ng DOH kasama ang Department of the Interior and Local Government at ng Department of Education.

Ang mga magbibigay ng pamurgang gamot ay ang mga guro at mga nars sa paaralan at silaý aalalayan ng mga barangay health workers at barangay nutrition scholars.

Sa Hulyo ang susunod na pagbibigay na pamurga sa mga bata sa elementarya.

Para sa Mimaropa, target ng DOH na maabot ng Oplan Goodbye Bulate ang may 470,947 na mga bata sa mga paaralan. (LP)

26 Enero 2016

Mahigit sa 500 katao sa Oriental Mindoro, may libreng pambubong mula sa PRC

Limang daan at limang put apat na benepisyaryo ang tatanggap ngayon ng tig-walong pirasong materyales pang-bubong sa Oriental Mindoro. Ang pambubong ay mula sa Philippine Red Cross at para sa mga benepisyaro sa mga bayan ng Baco, Naujan, Socorro at maging sa Lungsod Calapan. Tulad ng Pinamalayan, maraming kababayan sa mga nasabing lugar ang nasiraan ng bahay matapos dumaan ang Bagyong Nona.

25 Enero 2016

Press Release from Young Moro Professionals Network: National Peace Council member asks youth to reject biases vs Muslims

QUEZON CITY – If you have an online account, be a peace ambassador!

This was the challenge issued by Bai Rohaniza Sumndad-Usman, a member of the National Peace Council and founder of the youth group Teach Peace, Build Peace Movement, to young Filipinos as peace advocates await Congress’ approval of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).

Usman called on young Filipinos to take on a bigger role in eradicating biases against Muslims as she noted that responsible and pro-active use of social media accounts by young people could help break barriers set up by differences in religion, help build bridges of understanding among peoples, and help correct individual prejudices.

“[I]f you have 3,000 or 4,000 friends in [your] social media [accounts], let’s contradict those negative messages or barriers [between religion and culture] by posting all those that we have learned everyday about peace and understanding,” Sumndad-Usman said.

Sumndad-Usman is a member of the National Peace Council, a group composed of respected community leaders assembled by President Benigno S. Aquino III that led a national discussion to help people understand the bill aimed at establishing a new parliamentary regional government that will replace the current Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

The peace council member and youth leader stressed “the importance of building a culture of peace in creating different generations of peace builders.”

“Through peace education, you are able to create a space for every Filipino to understand each other. You can make love and understanding beginning with the younger generation. Continuously, engage yourself not just in the Bangsamoro course but also in the peace discourse,” Sumndad-Usman advised.

Focusing on the Bangsamoro peace process, Sumndad-Usman implored the youth to help end the conflict once and for all. “The need for peace and social justice in Mindanao should be cleared or else the next generation will inherit the conflicts. Our goal is that someday the future generation wouldn’t know what war is.”

Social injustice is root of conflict

“To answer the Bangsamoro question, we must know and realize what the Bangsamoro is. The problem of Mindanao is rooted in social injustice,” Sumndad-Usman commented, stressing that the biases against the Moro people and the Bangsamoro is the cause of the armed rebellion in Mindanao.

“The Mindanao conflict is the second longest internal conflict in the world. The massacres of the Moro people are the reason for the call of Muslim Independence by the armed groups. This can be traced within the historical context,” she said.

Visayan youth groups call for BBL passage

“Youth development can only thrive in a climate of peace. Conflict is a deterrent to the realization of young people’s full potentials,” National Youth Commission (NYC) Assistant Secretary Perci Cendaña stressed in a parallel event held elsewhere.

The NYC executive added that peace was a key investment in youth development and that conflicts prevented them from attaining their aspirations. “The Philippine Youth Index in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) is very, very low and it has the highest unemployment rate in the youth. Ang Mindanao ay isa sa pinakamayamang land source sa Pilipinas pero sila rin ang may mataas na poverty incidence (The Mindanao is one of the richest land sources in the Philippines but they also have the highest poverty incidence),” Cendaña noted.

Meanwhile, Federation of Muslim Students Association Vice President Jabar Sabdullah reiterated that the BBL would end the inequality to the Moro people and that now was an opportunity to know our Muslim brothers and sisters. “We must give peace a chance; after all, if war is the answer we are asking the wrong question.”

“Further, it is high time to realize the grievances of the Bangsamoro and to translate our visions of peace into reality in the form of BBL,” Sabdullah said, expressing his hopes that the BBL was a chance to end the conflict in Mindanao and to correct social injustices in the Bangsamoro.

Student Ronald Ray Ensalada of Cebu Normal University Publication voiced his concern on the delayed passage of the draft law in Congress and appealed to enact it before the administration ends. “We have to rush the passage of the BBL under President Aquino’s administration because the next President might not be able to put this in priority and delay more the step in achieving peace in Mindanao,” he stated. ###

Reference:

Bai Rohaniza Sumndad-Usman

Chairperson, Young Moro Professionals Network; and

Member, Peace National Council

Email address: teachpeace.mail@gmail.com

20 January 2016

TUCP: FEARLESS LABOR LEADER KITO MENDOZA PASSES AWAY AT 92

Statement from the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines on the passing of Democrito Mendoza

It is with profound sadness that the members, officers and staffs of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) and the Associated Labor Unions (ALU) announce the passing of its founder and their longtime president Atty. Democrito “Kito” Tolo Mendoza.

He passed away 6:40 p.m. yesterday, Tuesday, January 12^th at the Chong Hua Hospital in Cebu City at the age of 92.

At the time of his death, Kito was Chairman of the ALU and co-founder, former long-time President of the TUCP. He was also Vice Chair Emeritus of the Philippine Veteran’s Bank and Regional Vice President of the Veteran’s Federation of the Philippines (VFP).

He is survived by his second wife Dr. Marianita, former Commissioner to the Social Security System (SSS); fourteen children & grandchildren, including his youngest sons acting TUCP President and incumbent TUCP Party-list Rep. Raymond Mendoza and Michael Mendoza, National President of the ALU.

In a House of Representatives Resolution 1051, Kito was given congressional recognition by the House of Representatives on June 2015 for his lifelong and invaluable contribution in shaping and advancing the Philippine labor movement and for tirelessly working to defend and uphold the interest of the Filipino working class.

Born on July 31, 1923 in Liloan, Cebu, Kito is one of the founding pillars of the modern labor movement in the country, devoting seventy (70) years of his life in pursuit of his dream of ensuring the Filipino workers and their families live decent lives.

Guided by his vision of building and establishing a national trade union movement to place workers on an equal footing with employers and government, Mendoza first organized the port workers in Cebu, which in return would become the largest labor federation – the Associated Labor Unions (ALU). He struggled against vested interest groups and cartels.

Kito became a respected voice in the field of labor relations and social security serving as Commissioner of the Social Security System (SSS), and a promoter of technical and vocational training and labor education.  

His unwavering advocacy to the national and international labor movement has been demonstrated through his unflinching promotion of the core labor standards: the right to organize, the right of workers to bargain collectively and the right to strike; and the prohibition of the worse forms of child labor.

Mendoza rose to the call of the time as President of TUCP in 1978 by pushing for the reduction of decent work deficits as a key to improving work and life not only in the trade union movement in the Philippines, but also in the international arena.

Mendoza is not only known for his exemplary acts in the labor sector, but also for his inspiring courage when he went to war at a young age as a guerrilla fighter and became a be-medalled Filipino war veteran.

He has consistently promoted the interests and welfare of the workers in all forums and conferences, not only at the national, but also at regional and international levels: He advanced the freedom of association of workers and social justice in South East Asia that led to the founding of the ASEAN Trade Union Council (ATUC) in 1983 wherein many Filipino labor leaders and advocates were at the forefront and called the attention of the highly industrialized countries and the oil rich nations to apply a rational approach to the escalating oil prices in the spirit of universal brotherhood during the 63^rd Session of the International Labour Conference (ILC) in 1977.

During the 80^th Session of the ILC in 1993, when the liberalization of tariffs, ridiculous exchange rates and massive privatization were wreaking havoc in the Philippines resulting either to massive contractualization or displacement of disadvantaged workers,  Mendoza called on the restructuring of the Philippine economy to spur its competitiveness in the Asia-Pacific region. He also battled for technical support from the International Labour Organization (ILO) to encourage workers’ enterprises and develop skills for promoting sustainable development.

Throughout the years, Mendoza has not ceased in working towards the upliftment of the lives of people especially of workers and of war veterans as evidenced by the leadership positions and responsibilities he holds in major organizations to date such as the ASEAN Trade Union Congress (ATUC), the Associated Labor Unions-TUCP (ALU-TUCP) – the biggest labor federation in the Philippines – and the Veterans Federation of the Philippines (VFP). Further, he also held high positions in the past in both labor unions as well as government bodies such as the Visayas-Mindanao Confederation of Trade Unions, Philippine Seafarers Union-ALU-TUCP-ITF, Associated Workers Foundation, Inc., National Union of Portworkers in the Philippines, Oriental Port Allied Services, Corporation (OPASCOR), the Social Security Commission (SSC) through 1968 to 1986; in the Asian Advisory Council as well as in the International Center for Advanced Technical and Vocational Training of the International Labor Organization (ILO); he was Vice President of the 94^th Session of the ILC in Geneva in 1994; and he also served as the Member of the 2005 Consultative Commission during the Arroyo Administration.

With his historic and significant contributions to development of the labor movement in the Philippines, Mendoza was voted “Labor Leader of the Year” by the Cebu News Correspondence Club in 1961; by the Cebu Press Club in 1964; and by the School of Labor and Industrial Relations of the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City (UP SOLAIR) with the Iglesia Filipina Independiente in 1998 in celebration of the centennial year of the labor movement in the Philippines;

Equally notable are the three (3) Presidential Awards given to Mendoza: “Labor Leader of the Year” by President Fidel V. Ramos on 01 May 1998 in celebration of the centennial year of the labor movement; the “Order of the Golden Heart”, the highest Presidential award, given by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on 01 May 2002 and the Presidential Merit Award in 2005.

As a courageous and an enduring defender of democracy and a war hero, he was conferred the “Gold Cross” for his conspicuous gallantry in action against enemy forces in Cebu during the Philippine liberation campaign from 26 March to 19 April 1945 by the United States Army’s America Division; and several other medals and decorations during the World War II as an officer of the United States Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE) and as a guerilla fighter against the Japanese occupation from 1941 to 1946.

His unwavering work, advocacy, inspiration and his love for the workingmen has challenged not only the Philippine government but also governments around the world to build societies capable of respecting the rights of the majority of the people who are the workingmen. ###

13 JANUARY 2016

ALAN TANJUSAY 09158519558

TUCP SPOKESPERSON

Seven year-old LYKA PALMENCO, 6 days missing

12 January 2016

Reference:

ALMIRA PALMENCO (mother of Lyka)

0923694979 & 09998589653

PIA-Mimaropa

02-9203922

Seven year-old LYKA PALMENCO, 6 days missing

Seven-year old girl named LYKA PALMENCO of San Jose, Rodriguez, Rizal has been reported by her family missing since the noon of January 7.

Lyka was last seen at their home at no. 664 Dao Street, San Jose, Rodriguez, Rizal wearing white sando and dirty white short pants.

Lyka has scars on left eyebrow and legs near the right knee, shoulder length shaggy-type hair and dreamy/tender eyes.

The Palmenco family, through Almira (Lyka’s mother), can be reached at 0923694979 and 09998589653. #

LYKA PALMENCO, 7 yrs. old, anim na araw nang nawawala

PIA-Mimaropa Public Announcement

12 January 2016

Reference:

ALMIRA PALMENCO (Mother)

0923694979 & 09998589653

PIA-Mimaropa

02-9203922

LYKA PALMENCO, 7 yrs. old, anim na araw nang nawawala

Nananawagan ang Pamilyang Palmenco ng San Jose, Rodriguez, Rizal sa sinumang nakakaalam ng kinaroroonan o kaya ay nangangalaga sa kanilang kaanak na si Lyka na mangyaring makipag-ugnayan sa pamilya sa lalong madaling panahon.

Si Lyka, isang pitong taong gulang na batang babae, ay huling nakita noong tanghali ng January 7 sa kanilang bahay sa  No. 664 Dao Street, San Jose, Rodriguez, Rizal.

Suot ni Lyka ang isang puting sando at short pants na kulay-dirty white nang mawala.

Ilan sa mga  palatandaan ni Lyka ay mga peklat sa kaliwang kilay at sa kanang bahagi ng hita malapit sa tuhod, shaggy na buhok na hanggang balikat at mapupungay na mga mata.

Ang pamilya ni Lyka ay matatawagan sa mga numerong 0923694979 at 09998589653, hanapin ang kanyang ina na si Almira. #

PRESS RELEASE: COMELEC to hold public consultation on the draft implementing rules of Fair Elections Act

The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) announced Thursday that it will be conducting a public hearing and consultation on the draft Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act No. 9006 otherwise known as the ‘Fair Elections Act’ in connection with the May 9, 2016 National and Local Elections and subsequent Elections.

The said public hearing and consultation shall be conducted on Monday, January 11, 2016, 2:00 PM at the Palacio del Gobernador Building in Intramuros Manila.

COMELEC Spokesman James Jimenez said that among the proposed amendments included in the draft IRR include the requirement for candidates to indicate in their campaign materials the phrase, “This material should be recycled”. “This amendment was inserted to emphasize the Commission’s commitment to conducting ecologically friendly elections,” said Jimenez.

Also included among the significant amendments to the draft IRR, according to Jimenez, is the removal of aggregate time limits to broadcast election propaganda, pursuant to the Supreme Court’s ruling in GMA Network Inc. et al v. COMELEC.

The COMELEC spokesman averred that apart from representatives from the media and political parties who were invited to attend the public hearing and consultation, the general public is also 

welcome to take part in the event.

For additional information, interested parties may contact the COMELEC Education and Information Department at telephone numbers 525-9294, 525-9345 or 525-9301. ###

Reference:

James Arthur B. Jimenez

Director IV, Education and Information Department

Commission on Elections

Tel. No. (+632) 525-9294

Date: January 8, 2016